Hi all
Is it me or is there a considerable amount of teatime traffic in Sheffield!
Ok, this time has always been the comuting time, but the comuting time is getting earlier & earlier & the ques longer & longer!
Newbold Lane & Brocco bank are outrageous from 4 pm everyday. Ecclesall rd too & i dare say more main arteries that i'm glad i don't see at these times!
I first noticed it going to footy at Hillsborough years ago, the traffic on Rivelin Valley rd was bad up to the junction on a big game, & so you knew the crowd would be big, now every game is like a "big" game. ( no footy snipes neccesarry).
We all need to look at Thailand & drive scooters instead of big 4wd's.
They have kids also thee in Thailand, but if all there had cars, it would be a nightmare!
We need to stop being selfish & either use buses cyles & rickshaws!
Uk is an island & can't expand into other places, so we need to think, fast! How many motorways & roads can we build, people need to get out of there cars & public transport has to improve or we will all suffer!

Do you drive a car, Romario?

I hope this isn't one of those 'you all do something different so I can drive in peace' things. :confused:

Don't you think its partly the council fault as well. All the small roads have been blocked of making everyone use the same road, one way systems that take you hundreds of yard out of your way to get a to the other side of a road, dual carraige ways made back into single lanes if you drive in sheffield now its a nightmare anytime of the day. :(

Yes, a car i have, but only for ventures into derbyshire!
I'm not crazy, the thought of taking it into town, paying astronomical parking fees & queing all the way home isn't a good idea!
I bike it!, faster & keep fit & on nice days, i take the scenic route up mayfield valley! Seeing the trees, smelling the flowers aah!

Originally posted by Romario
Yes, a car i have, but only for ventures into derbyshire!
I'm not crazy, the thought of taking it into town, paying astronomical parking fees & queing all the way home isn't a good idea!
I bike it!, faster & keep fit & on nice days, i take the scenic route up mayfield valley! Seeing the trees, smelling the flowers aah! In that case, I agree with a total ban on cars in the city centre. There should be a huge multi storey where they knocked the market down, so shoppers can get here, and the trams should be free all day on production of your parking ticket.

Originally posted by Bikertec
Don't you think its partly the council fault as well. All the small roads have been blocked of making everyone use the same road, one way systems that take you hundreds of yard out of your way to get a to the other side of a road, dual carraige ways made back into single lanes if you drive in sheffield now its a nightmare anytime of the day. :(
Although some of my 'usual routes' have been chopped up, I find the traffic flows better and it's easier to navigate if you're from out of town, so I'm just looking forward to when they're all finished.

Originally posted by Strix
I'm just looking forward to when they're all finished.

Then they'll start digging it up to improve the gas mains, phone lines and so on :D

I think if the supertram went out of town like to Totley, uptowards Broomhill, out to other places where the traffic is heavy at commuter times, life would be different, as buses aren't reliable enough & it's so anoying waiting for buses that don't turn up, especially after a day & you wanna get home!

Originally posted by Romario
I think if the supertram went out of town like to Totley, uptowards Broomhill, out to other places where the traffic is heavy at commuter times, Yeah, right. Can see all those 4x4's just parked up on somebody's drive. That's a power thing. Safety bubble. You'll never separate those people from their status symbols. Not without an agressive public transport policy, that presents a viable alternative.

Life is mad!, there's cars in car parks that the like of Ford & Nissan own that aren't sold, that are full!
The job of the company is to build cars, the powers that be get taxes from cars, but won't stop car builders to stop car building, & complain that there's too much congestion, but won't do anything to decrease congestion, like "the above" will do!
Public transport isn't the best, unless you live in Tokyo!, but people shouldn't be selfish!
Rickshaws, there should be, maybe a business venture!

Excuse me, but I own a 4x4, not a big one, just a dinky little one. You will always find mine parked on the drive, I don't use it in rush hour, just use my legs instead!

4 miles there, 4 miles back, gets me exercise I badly need and if it's pi**ing it down just jump on the bus. They're crap, but OK as back up!

I can't imagine anyone taking a car into town when they can possibly avoid it. Sheffield Kremlin, oooppps I mean Council have buggered up the roads to the extent where it's just not worth it.

1. Road layouts designed by monkeys.
2. Shoddy repairs leaving gaping holes and bumps
3. Street lights and signals not maintained properly.
4. Police who couldn't care less

If you have trouble parking just park on the pavement and cycle lane outside Snig Hill HQ. I mean the coppers do it, SO IT MUST BE ALLOWED, RIGHT?!!

This is why town is basically a large collection of charity shops and places like TK Crapz. All the proper money goes to Meadowhall, because they do it right!

Now I need a lay down!

B

Originally posted by Romario
Rickshaws, there should be, maybe a business venture! How about going modern??? A fleet of Mercedes 'Smart' Taxis!! :thumbsup:

Bourne, your right, a Sheffield revolution is needed, if everyone were prepared to do it 'i would' people would take notice included the ignorant bizzies!

One option I can take due to the flexibility of my working hours is to leave either before or after the evening rush hour - even then I use the bus or Shanks's Pony.

The main reason I don't walk from town back to Walkley is that I'm a lazy bugger and it's uphill....:) the irony is that the only times I DO walk back is when I have to due to snow, missing buses, etc.

Between 1997 and 2004 I worked outside of Sheffield - either Leeds, Chesterfield or Derby/Notts. Before that I worked in Sheffield and for some strange reason frequently drove in to the City Centre. Now, back in the centre, I wouldn't countenance driving in because of the cost of parking and the congestion.

There's something called 'price elasticity' applied to commuting by car vs bus which is a measure of how expensive you have to make driving before people go to the buses. It's incredibly high - you really have to squeeze people hard to get them out of their cars. Part of the reason MUST be the reliability - perceived and actual - of the buses. For example, if buses were RELIABLE I'd be happy to put up with them being less frequent. If the buses are supposed to run every 10 minutes and they bunch up, miss a departure or generally mess about then people will see them as being unreliable. Set a timetable so that buses run every 15 minutes AND show up when they're supposed to, and people will be more disposed to use 'em.

Joe

The bus option was far more attractive when they all left from one central bus station. Now they all go from a variety of places round town, it's impossible.

I spent 10 years out of Sheffield, and even visiting the transport exec's website was futile. They told us all about their racism/equal rights policy etc. but not where I could catch my bus from.

Hence I am forced to take the car on one off journeys. (We usually take the train into town from here, though)

I have found that the the Catcliffe roundabout is usually terrible, so is the road going towards the Travel Interchange - absolute nightmare when I was picking someone up.

Has anyone seen the giant poster near the train station showing what the area will look like in the future ?

There are no roads in that picture, it's all pedestrianised.

Where will all the traffic go ?

Originally posted by nick2
Has anyone seen the giant poster near the train station showing what the area will look like in the future ?

There are no roads in that picture, it's all pedestrianised.

Where will all the traffic go ?

Well, at the current rate of progress we'll all be wearing silver suits and shooting around in flying cars by the time it's finished...

Originally posted by Greenback
Well, at the current rate of progress we'll all be wearing silver suits and shooting around in flying cars by the time it's finished...

:0)

I'm not sure but in that poster it looks like there is a big water feature going down the hill. Also, the Howard isn't in the picture, is there anywhere that we can have a look at the proposed plans ?

Maybe this could be undertaken by some in the "Project Sheffield" thing?

Ways to increase traffic flow, additional roads and routes for people to use to get to certain places.. to stop everyone using the main routes out of the centre? Spread the traffic out and it will flow better.

Just a thought.

Hover cars are the answer, flying around at different levels of altitude. Just like on Bladerunner. Wouldn't that be fun!

Originally posted by nick2
Has anyone seen the giant poster near the train station showing what the area will look like in the future ?

There are no roads in that picture, it's all pedestrianised.

Where will all the traffic go ?

As far as Sheffield City Council are concerned the traffic can go to hell, they've got it into their heads that the only people who matter are those arriving by train:rolleyes:

Although I noticed David Blunkett arrived by car the other day for his surgery ;)

Originally posted by Greybeard
As far as Sheffield City Council are concerned the traffic can go to hell, they've got it into their heads that the only people who matter are those arriving by train:rolleyes:

Although I noticed David Blunkett arrived by car the other day for his surgery ;)

Surely at a train station people arriving by train are a rather important consideration!

There is a feature on the BBC South Yorkshire website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/sense_of_place/sheaf_square/index.shtml

Originally posted by Andy C
There is a feature on the BBC South Yorkshire website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/sense_of_place/sheaf_square/index.shtml

I like the look of that, it will give people a much better impression than stepping out onto one of the busyest roads in Sheffield.

Originally posted by Andy C
There is a feature on the BBC South Yorkshire website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/sense_of_place/sheaf_square/index.shtml

Just had a look at the plan on that site (have you noticed that you can click on different parts of the plan to zoom in?) The Howard Hotel is still there and is labeled on the zoomed in map of Sheaf Square.

I'm confused. What is a "Super Crossing?" Is it a bridge, a subway or just a set of pedestrian crossing lights?

Originally posted by ptigga
I'm confused. What is a "Super Crossing?" Is it a bridge, a subway or just a set of pedestrian crossing lights?

I'm thinking a super crossing will be like a travelator over the road.

Or maybe not.

Originally posted by ptigga
Just had a look at the plan on that site (have you noticed that you can click on different parts of the plan to zoom in?) The Howard Hotel is still there and is labeled on the zoomed in map of Sheaf Square.

I'm confused. What is a "Super Crossing?" Is it a bridge, a subway or just a set of pedestrian crossing lights?

Looks like the super crossing is the same width as the pedestrianised Howard Street, and crosses all 4 lanes of traffic in one go.

Originally posted by Andy C
Looks like the super crossing is the same width as the pedestrianised Howard Street, and crosses all 4 lanes of traffic in one go.

That worries me.

One of the major concerns for a train station is that passengers need to be able to get to the platforms as soon as possible i.e running for trains. It's a lack of thought to put a crossing in that will (by neccesity of crossing all 4 lanes at once) have a long cycle. The crossings that were there before were bad enough. If I'm trying to rush to get a train then the last thing I want is a long wait at a road crossing. What's wrong with a bridge or a subway?

People would not want to use bridges or subways. Both involve effort to go up and down ramps, are ugly, possibly dangerous and in the case of subways generally get dirty, vandalised, smell of wee and have resident beggars and other ne'er do wells.

The reason the existing pelican crossing takes so long to get across is it is in 2 parts, with one part controlling a junction and the other timed to co-incide in one direction only.

The new one is purely pedestrian and does not control a junction, and has no waiting in the middle - you go right across in one go.

If that isn't good enough for you - arrive for your train earlier!

Originally posted by Andy C
People would not want to use bridges or subways. Both involve effort to go up and down ramps, are ugly, possibly dangerous and in the case of subways generally get dirty, vandalised, smell of wee and have resident beggars and other ne'er do wells.


I'm quite happy to use bridges and subways. I quite like being able to cross roads without having to interact with cars at all.

The road could be lowered to allow for a flat pedestrian bridge.

Originally posted by Andy C
People would not want to use bridges or subways. Both involve effort to go up and down ramps, No mention of the hill we currently have to navigate!!